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I’ll Have Another wasn’t right, Canadian owner made right call

Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey commends J. Paul Reddam and his training staff for deciding not to race.

Union Rags, right, with jockey John Velazquez aboard, beats Mike Smith and Paynter by a neck to win the 144th running of the Belmont Stakes on Saturday at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.
(MIKE SEGAR / REUTERS)

By Mary OrmsbyFeature Writer

Sat., June 9, 2012

ELMONT, N.Y.—I’ll Have Another’s trainer said a curious thing when he described the tendon injury that dashed a bid for the first Triple Crown in 34 years.

Doug O’Neill volunteered Friday that the chestnut 3-year-old who had already won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, indeed, could have run in Saturday’s $1 million Belmont Stakes. Instead, Windsor, Ont., owner J. Paul Reddam and his training staff decided not only to withdraw the colt from the Belmont but retire him from the sport.

So, I’ll Have Another was in a backstretch barn when Union Rags, ridden by John Velazquez, edged Paynter by a neck to win the mile-and-a-half race at Belmont Park.

Earlier in day, a horrific breakdown in front of the grandstand marred the celebratory mood at Belmont. Five-year-old Giant Ryan, fighting for the lead in the home stretch, fractured bones in his left front foot, stumbled a few steps, then tumbled to the ground before 85,811 spectators watching the True North Handicap. Giant Ryan was vanned away and to be taken to the University of Pennsylvania for surgery on his ankle to save him as a stallion

What if I’ll Have Another had run? Would he have raced hard on the track called Big Sandy because his handlers asked him to do so?

“As a jockey, if (a horse is) eager, he’ll run as fast as he can and as far as he can and it’s up to you to restrain him,” said Bailey, who had nearly 6,000 winners over his Hall of Fame career.

“They’re hot-blooded animals and you can almost feel ... from the time you get on, to the time you reach the gate, you can feel the motor. The RPMs start getting higher and higher and higher. Cigar almost swelled up as soon as he left the paddock. They’re not all the same, they have personalities, just like people, but there are signs that each one of them give that they are ready — or not.”

People anthropomorphize when they attribute human traits to animals; that animals have ambition, are lazy, mean, kind, have desire. And, in the competitive world of the horsemen, they are keen, over-achieving athletes. So, another question: Do horses understand they are in a competitive race?

Horsemen say yes.

“When you watch horses and you see the good ones, when he gets beside a horse, he’ll pin his ears back,” says Woodbine-based Reade Baker, trainer of River Rush, which won the Queen’s Plate trials last Sunday.

“When they pin their ears back like that, they have a desire to beat the other guy. They don’t want the other guy to get in front of him.”

That may be a reflection of the animals’ herd mentality. Horse are flight animals that speed off when danger is present; being near the front of the pack would mean a better chance of survival.

Bailey, now an ESPN analyst, says it’s critical that handlers have a complete physical and emotional understanding of their animals. He commended I’ll Have Another’s team in particular for being sensitive to their horse’s signals.

“ Funny thing is ... I didn’t think I’ll Have Another was nearly as eager taking his (exercise) rider through his workout (here) as he was the week of the Preakness,” said Bailey, who watched Reddam’s colt gallop Wednesday and Thursday mornings.

“The eagerness in which he pulled the rider around wasn’t the same as it was in Baltimore.”

I’ll Have Another was supposed to lead the post-parade Saturday night, with Mario Gutierrez in the saddle, to say farewell to his fans.

That post-parade idea — which, so close to post time, would have put the injured animal in close proximity to horses prepping to race — was scrubbed Saturday morning. Instead, a lower key plan was devised. I’ll Have Another was led to the winner’s circle about 40 minutes before the Belmont. Gutierrez was aboard, then jumped down to let O’Neill unsaddle his mount. Fans applauded and the horse left the race track setting for the last time and returned to his barn.

I’ll Have Another will be transported back to California Sunday or Monday where his future as a stud will be discussed.

NOTES: Dr. Larry Bramlage, the on-call veterinarian for the Belmont Stakes day, said x-rays showed Giant Ryan fractured both left front sesamoids and sustained vascular damage in his left front ankle. Jockey Willie Martinez jumped clear when the horse began to stagger and was unhurt when Giant Ryan fell.

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